Appliances too high for worktop, end panels too low

[Macaroni11]

Can you please measure the floor to top of end panel height to the right of the Belfast sink but at the back of the unit?

Height at the back (and front) of end panel is 84.5cm
and correction, apologies, the base unit at the left is also 84.5cm tall with plinth inside

 

[chirpychippy]

The only ones I could never fit were granite and quartz - neither if which I'd ever want to handle myself due to weight! Laminate, compact laminate, solid wood and a lot of "sectional" (pre-made) solid surface should surely come within the remit of a competent kitchen fitter - bespoke solid surface is a bit different, but not that common these days

I can't vouch for others or the reasons why they can't do certain elements of their trade.

Maybe it's lack of experience, confidence, fear, who knows....

I don't touch Stone, Corian, Dekton, Quartz, Marble etc etc otherwise I do my own.

 

[Macaroni11]

You often have to cut the plinth to suit the units - it's not uncommon to have to trim this, regardless of what your builder says.

What is the height of the top of the unit adjacent to the appliances (trying to ascertain if the appliances have been jacked up on their feet or not)?

Incidentally, the plinths was one long one, and supplied as 16cm tall !

The half end panel to the left of the dishwashwer is 84cm tall, and the unit next to it (under the sink) is 58.5/59cm tall

 

[Macaroni11]

In that case, screw in the appliance legs.
Worst case, you can remove the top on most machines; two screws at the back and slide forward.
That will give you 30mm clearance.

Never knew this... This sounds a bit drastic and violent to the machine does that work for dishwashers too?!!

 

[Macaroni11]

Surely if the guy is a kitchen fitter or joiner he'd fit his own worktops, other than a stone or quartz top?

We actually called the carpenter to fix a botched job by someone who said they could do it... I mean it was bad, feet were hanging by one screw, units barely attached to the wall also... the worktop is from a supplier (we had a great discount), who understood so didn't proceed after taking measurements as they saw the issues and are waiting for us to call them back when the kitchen is really ready !

 

[chirpychippy]

Incidentally, the plinths was one long one, and supplied as 16cm tall !

The half end panel to the left of the dishwashwer is 84cm tall, and the unit next to it (under the sink) is 58.5/59cm tall

So at some point in your kitchen you have a height of 870mm but next to the dishwasher the height is 840mm "the same height as the appliance"

This is a setting out mistake, the 840mm needs to be 850 - 860mm which would make the 870mm point 880-890mm but the plinths are often supplied at 165mm for this reason.

 

[Macaroni11]

Surely the sink needs to be raised as well? It looks quite a bit lower than the worktop height

top of the sink is at 84cm

 

[Macaroni11]

So at some point in your kitchen you have a height of 870mm but next to the dishwasher the height is 840mm "the same height as the appliance"

This is a setting out mistake, the 840mm needs to be 850 - 860mm which would make the 870mm point 880-890mm but the plinths are often supplied at 165mm for this reason.

Sorry Chirpychippy, my bad, it was 840 also not 870

 

[chirpychippy]

Sorry Chirpychippy, my bad, it was 840 also not 870

OK, so the whole kitchen is 30mm lower than it should be.

Where are you based?

 

[Macaroni11]

Berkshire…

 

[johnny2007]

Sorry Chirpychippy, my bad, it was 840 also not 870

You said the cabinets were at 870?
Wrong measurements?

 

[johnny2007]

Never knew this... This sounds a bit drastic and violent to the machine does that work for dishwashers too?!!

Nothing drastic.
If you see the instructions it tells you there what to do to remove the top panel.
Most washing machines have a removable top panel.

 

[opps]

I'm not sure about that kitchen fit it looks like a bit of a dogs dinner tbh....

To answer your question, on solid wood I do put a drip groove on the underside of the lip, I would do overhang at 8-10mm and similar for compact lam, I don't use a bearing guide though. I generally flip the sink upside down onto a piece of 12mm and trace around the inside of the sink for the internal sink size, once cut I clamp it to the top of the work top and use a flute cutter with a 30mm Guide Bush, conveniently the distance from.the outside of the Bush to a 12.7 mm cutter is 8.5.mm which is perfect for the overhang.

Incidentally, yes the Belfast is to low, i aim for 2-3 mm just enough for a nice silucone seal, and it should of been pulled forwards about 30mm, they are not supposed to be flush with cabinets.

I am currently having a long overdue rest from kitchens, I kid you not, I fitted 48 last year, not bad for a Carpenter

Thanks for the advice, much appreciated.

From memory, I used the bearing guide because the sink had already been plumbed in and I couldn't think of a good way of templating it. Hence I used the longest cutter I could find on the web, knowing that because the sink tapers in, it would leave me with an overhang. I am glad that I now know about adding drip groves.

Thanks.

 

[Macaroni11]

By "a gap between the worktop and appliances" do you mean between the top of the appliance and the underside of the worktop? The appliances have adjustable feet beneath them - are you sure the fitter hasn't jacked the feet up? One thing you will need to do is to check the height at the top of the units. In a standard kitchen this should be somewhere around 870mm (150mm of plinth + 720mm of base cabinet). What height are your cabinets now?

That 870mm normally gives you 20 to 40mm working space between the top of the appliances and the underside of the worktop (with my Bosch appliances about 30mm - our washer and dryer are both about 840mm high). Are your kitchen units lower than that? If no, then lower the feet on the appliances (they are threaded). If yes, and the appliance feet aren't jacked up, then the cabinets will need to be jacked up a bit to give you the required clearance; the cabinet feet are adjustable, but the cabinets may also have been fixed to the wall (screws, angle brackets, etc) so they will need to be unfixed, lifted, levelled then refixed, the plumbing for the sink will also need to be altered (see below) and you'll need to replace the decor end panels as they will end up cut too short (sorry, but joinery and kitchen fitting are subtractive trades - you can't weld extensions on!).

As to to sink, there are two main connections - the taps and the waste. The taps hopefully won't be an issue, because most taps are fitted on flexible hoses these days, which gives you a bit of leeway to move the sink. The waste will in all liklihood be 40mm plastic which may need a straight section cutting out and replacing with a longer one - waterpump pliers, hacksaw and deburrer job if the waste is push fit or compression fit (for a DIY job I'd do the same if the original were solvent weld pipe, the only difference is that it would need a couple of extra straight connectors). Your biggest problem is likely to be freeing the sink from the cabinet - Belfast sinks are normally bedded onto the cabinet with a generous amount of silicone sealant and that will need to be cut, which can be a PIA job. BTW the infill panel to the right of the sink with a bare chipboard top is asking for trouble - all cut edges around the sink need to be completely sealed with something waterproof (e.g. silicone, etc) before the top is installed (there is no guarantee that the granite fitters will do the job - I assume the tops are to be granite from what you wrote plus the fact that it's a Belfast sink)

Basically, if the appliances can't be lowered, you are looking at a partial refitting of the base cabinets plus new decor panels. I think your fitter has stuffed up the job and should be redoing thIngs at his own expense - I doubt he'll like that, though

The problems evolve when the fitter doesn't check the floor, if your fitter has set 870mm at the lowest point and the floor is 30mm out, at the highest point the total cabinet height will 840mm.

You said the cabinets were at 870?
Wrong measurements?

That’s right I said 870 it was 840

 

[Deleted member 174758]

Whilst I agree with Johnny that you can gain another 25mm or so by taking the tops off the appliances, which will be less painfull than refitting the base units, my main experience with doing it was in a kitchen we acquired some years ago when we bought a flat. Stunning looking kitchen (black oak with aluminium trim), but if water leaked over the top and into the dishwasher it required a new control board. That happened to us twice (both plumbing issues) - on the second occasion I ended up making a 2mm aluminium top cover to protect the innards of the dishwasher, so not a fan of taking tops off machines